


A Contemplation of the Rearing of Phoca Grypus

by aitoheiwa



Category: Patrick OBrian - Master and Commander series
Genre: Gen, Yuletide, challenge:Yuletide 2008, recipient:kormantic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-01-11
Updated: 2011-01-11
Packaged: 2017-10-14 16:35:17
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,178
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/151283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aitoheiwa/pseuds/aitoheiwa





	A Contemplation of the Rearing of Phoca Grypus

  


## A Contemplation of the Rearing of Phoca Grypus

  
Fandom: [Patrick OBrian - Master and Commander series](http://yuletidetreasure.org/get_fandom_quicksearch.cgi?Fandom=Patrick%20OBrian%20-%20Master%20and%20Commander%20series)  
Written for: kormantic in the Yuletide 2008 Challenge  
by [ladybretagne](http://yuletidetreasure.org/cgi-bin/contact.cgi?filename=67/acontemplation)  


Stephen wobbled predictably as he stepped from the boat onto the small, isolated outcropping that called itself an island, Bonden and Jack to either side of him with a hand on his arm.

"Stephen, are you sure this is a wise idea?" Jack questioned, bracing himself against the jagged shore with one booted foot.

"Joy, please do not give it a second thought. It is a singular opportunity to observe the noble _Phoca grypus_ , I believe you would know it as your Grey Seal, in such a glorious habitat and I should not dream of foregoing it for such inconsequential concerns as comfort and accomodation."

Stephen shuffled his belongings onto a ledge in the rock, watching a sleek grey head bobbing in and out of the water in the sight line of the boat.

"Oh Jack, look! Look! A most prodigious dam, just there beyond that swell!"

Stephen scrambled quickly to the lowermost edge of the shore, the water lapping at his toes as he dug through the many pockets of the coat he wore, pulling out, in no particular order, a half-eaten biscuit, a piece of twine, a small knife, a leaf of an unidentified desiduous plant of some kind, until he finally found the collapsing spyglass he sought. Stephen trained it towards the peering head of the seal as it began to move closer, leaning further and further away from the safety of the shore and towards the water as he did so.

"Stephen! God damn your eyes, I only agreed to your coming to this desolate hunk of rock because you swore you would be careful! Those animals are dangerous, every sailor has heard stories of the vicious things they can do, and entirely unprovoked!"

Jack clambered after Stephen, placing a hand on his shoulder that was quickly waved off by the surgeon.

"Jack, you malign the creature terribly. I know they are commonly called any number of unflattering names by your average sailor or fisherman, but those names are in large part undeserved."

Jack shook his head and swiped a stray blonde hair away from his face, throwing his hands up in defeat. He was familiar with these moods and fancies of Stephen's after years in his acquaintance and knew better than to attempt to reason with him. All he could do was leave Stephen to his seals and his birds and whatever else it was that he occupied himself with on these scientific jaunts of his. After a few more comments in regards to his safety and comfort which were met with little more than a nod or murmur in response, Jack made his way back to the boat and aboard his floating home.

Stephen stood in rapt contemplation of his seal for long moments, blindly following the motion of the tide around the edge of the rock he stood on to a small protected inlet. It was only the small, distressed noises coming from the center of the inlet's shore that at last managed to pull Stephen's attention from the bobbing, weaving and ducking head of the female seal. When finally he turned towards the noise, he saw the round, gray and wide eyed source to be nothing less than a seal pup, no doubt the offspring of the dam he had watched swimming shortly before. Crouching against a small outcropping of stone that could barely be called more than a foothold, Stephen spoke in as soothing a voice as he knew how.

"Well, this is certainly a most serendipitous encounter," Stephen mumbled half to himself. "I had hoped to be able to observe the peculiar rearing employed by the mother seals, of course, but to be able to observe a calf still in its white milk coat at such a close proximity..." Stephen's voice trailed off as he crouched watching the young animal, oblivious to the sea lapping at his legs or the wind whipping through his insufficient clothing.

"It is a terribly curious behavior, this habitual abandonment of the young for long stretches while the mother hunts and goes about her necessary behavior." Stephen paused in his monologue, his eyes searching the waves for a smooth grey head. "And yet, though the behavior would be anathema to the standards of English motherhood, it is quite common in the natural world. Indeed the tigress does similar, crossing great tracks of the Far Eastern wilderness in search of food despite the presence of her cubs."

A long pause then, as the thought of India moved Stephen's thoughts in another direction, towards the Indian tigress of his own personal favor, a melancholy cloud crossing his features that no one but the juvenile seal was present to observe.

"Certainly were Diana to be forced to raise a child her behavior would be the same. Not for a malicious lack of feeling but from a complete foreigness to what the outside observer would consider appropriate actions." A hand raised as Stephen scrubbed at his jaw, the scientist's mind attempting to overtake the irrational emotions and only but partially succeeding.

"She suffers the disapprobation of many, including those who should by rights be her supporters, by this I mean her friends and family, and yet who could call it fair when observing her behavior cold bloodedly? To condemn her for being what she is is as like condeming the common hound for chasing the fox or the tortoise for moving slowly and carefully. Indeed is Jack not a similar creature? The admiralty and his own family, both by blood and marriage, decry his behavior at every turn and yet he is nothing but the most honest of creatures. Would our society not be so much the more calm and ordered if we were not to put these unreasonable and unnatural expectations on all members of society, even the ones who simply cannot by their very natures conform."

With a shake of his head, Stephen wrenched himself up from his perch and onto the relative stability of the flat rock above him, forcing his mind back to the practicalities of preparing his shelter before the looming storm clouds let loose their fury. That night, huddled under his blanket, the only sound to be heard from his tiny makeshift encampment was the scratch of pen on paper as Stephen filled yet another page of his well worn journal.

 _Wonder extremely today whether I can ever know Diana's true nature. It seemed simple while observing the juvenile Phoca grypus to relate her behavior to the whims of nature, but how would I know at what point my own desire to see her as an admirable creature has clouded my judgement. ___

The pen stopped slowly, Stephen's eyes drooping as he tightened the stopper in the small bottle beside him. Moments later, sleep claimed him, the faint cry of the seals and birds his favorite lullaby.

  
   
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